Redbud blossoms and Fordhook limas

Hello, Lori Fiechter here with an odd combo video! I've been waiting for the red-buds to bloom and not just because they have such a delicate beauty. Not actually red, though. More of a fuchsia pink. But "red-bud" has a nice ring to it. I found out last year that red-bud blossoms are edible. Lots of things are edible--like wild violets, for example--but most don't taste that good. Clover, violets, just "meh." In contrast, Red-buds are exceptionally tasty. If you like raw snow peas or raw sugar snap peas, that's what I'm talking about. If you have your own red-bud tree, try throwing a handful of these blossoms on your next salad!Show more

As far as lima beans go, they are so much work to shell that we don't plant them every year. They freeze beautifully, though, and taste much better than any lima you'll find at the store. We ate some last week that we froze in 2017 and they were like fresh (use a vacuum sealer, of course!)

The trick to Fordhook 242 limas is that they have such a large seed that they often rot before they spout. Or something lurking below the soil eats them before they sprout. I neglected to buy treated seed this year, so that's another mark against them. The good thing is that limas transplant beautifully so Stan dug out an old igloo cooler and an old snow saucer and filled them with organic soil. Then we carefully poked in the lima seeds--dent down! Yes, it makes a difference on such a big seed--you can't just give them a toss and hope for the best. Covered with a couple inches of soil and now we just have to wait a week or two for them to germinate. Stay tuned.